ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Analysis of Microbial Community Structure
and Dynamic Changes during the Domestication
Process of Embedded Particles
More details
Hide details
1
College of Mining Engineering, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China
2
Hebei Industrial Technology Institute of Mine Ecological Remediation, Tangshan 063210, China
3
College of Civil and Architectural Engineering, North China University of Science and Technology,
Tangshan 063210, China
Submission date: 2025-10-20
Final revision date: 2025-12-31
Acceptance date: 2026-01-19
Online publication date: 2026-03-04
Corresponding author
Fuping Li
College of Mining Engineering, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
The nitrification process is highly feasible for treating high-ammonia nitrogen and low C/N ratio
wastewater. By using thermal shock to treat embedded activated sludge, the accumulation of NO2--N
has been successfully achieved. To study the changes in microbial communities within the embedded
particles before and after heat shock, and to reveal their succession patterns and dominant flora, the
present experiment was carried out to analyze the community structure of microorganisms in the three
phases of pre-domestication, post-domestication, and post-heat-shock by using Polymerase Chain
Reaction-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE), as well as to carry out species
identification and phylogenetic analyses by the molecular cloning method. The 16S rDNA sequence
analysis of the characteristic bands of the total bacterial DGGE spectrum showed that the activated
sludge had the most species before domestication. As domestication proceeded, the total bacterial
diversity decreased. In contrast, the species of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite-oxidizing
bacteria (NOB) increased significantly, and the nitrification performance of the sludge was enhanced.
The thermal shock did not have a significant effect on the diversity of the AOB populations but had
a great effect on the NOBs, and the dominant genera of the NOBs were almost completely inactivated.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
REFERENCES (32)
1.
RAN X., WANG T., ZHOU M., LI Z., WANG H., TSYBEKMITOVA G.T., GUO J., WANG Y. A Novel Perspective on the Instability of Mainstream Partial Nitrification: The Niche Differentiation of Nitrifying Guilds. Environmental Science & Technology, 59 (18), 8922, 2025.
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.es....
2.
KANG D., ZHAO X., WANG N., SUO Y., YUAN J., PENG Y. Redirecting carbon to recover VFA to facilitate biological short-cut nitrogen removal in wastewater treatment: a critical review. Water Research, 238, 120015, 2023.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watr....
3.
LI Y., GENG B., GAO Y., MA Y. Effect of influent volumetric loading rates on short-cut nitrification and denitrifying phosphorus removal in anaerobic baffle reactor-membrane bioreactor system: Long term performance and microbial mechanism. Journal of Water Process Engineering, 69, 106740, 2025.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe....
4.
CHANG B.-Z., ZHANG S., CHEN D.-Z., GAO K.-T., YANG G.-F. Performance, kinetic characteristics and bacterial community of short-cut nitrification and denitrification system at different ferrous ion conditions. Biodegradation, 35 (5), 621, 2024.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532....
5.
LI DONG M.Z., LI M., WANG Q., HU L. Partial nitrification start-up study running alternately between sequential batch and continuous flow. China Environmental Science, 43 (7), 59, 2023.
6.
SU Z., LIU T., GUO J., ZHENG M. Nitrite oxidation in wastewater treatment: microbial adaptation and suppression challenges. Environmental Science & Technology, 57 (34), 12557, 2023.
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.es....
7.
ZHANG C., ZHANG M., CHEN W., CHEN H., WU J. NOB suppression by organic pollutants in mainstream single-stage partial nitrification/anammox (PN/A) process: Experimental evidence and modelling investigation. Chemical Engineering Journal, 498, 155459, 2024.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.....
8.
LIU C., WANG Y., CHEN G., YU D., ZHANG X., WANG X., TANG Z., XU A. A novel stable nitritation process: Treating sludge by alternating free nitrous acid/heat shock. Bioresource Technology, 347, 126753, 2022.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bior....
9.
AFROZE N., KIM M., CHOWDHURY M.M., HAROUN B., ANDALIB M., UMBLE A., NAKHLA G. Effect of thermal shock and sustained heat treatment on mainstream partial nitrification and microbial community in sequencing batch reactors. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 31 (4), 6258, 2024.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356....
10.
ISAKA K., SUMINO T., TSUNEDA S. Novel nitritation process using heat-shocked nitrifying bacteria entrapped in gel carriers. Process Biochemistry, 43 (3), 265, 2008.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proc....
11.
YU L., LI R., MO P., FANG Y., LI Z., PENG D. Stable partial nitrification at low temperature via selective inactivation of enzymes by intermittent thermal treatment of thickened sludge. Chemical Engineering Journal, 418, 129471, 2021.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.....
12.
LI D., ZHONG-XIN M., LI M.-R., WANG Q.-Y., LI-JUN H. Achieving stable partial nitrification by combining heat-shock sludge and intermittent gradient aeration. China Environmental Science, 44 (7), 3719, 2024.
13.
LIU Z., CHEN Y., XU Z., LEI J., LIAN H., ZHANG J., WANG Z. Surface modification of polyurethane sponge with zeolite and zero-valent iron promotes short-cut nitrification. Polymers, 16 (11), 1506, 2024.
https://doi.org/10.3390/polym1....
14.
AHMED M.E., KHAJAH M., ABDULLAH H., AL-YASEEN R. Treatment of Industrial Wastewater of Variable Quality Using Ultrasound Irradiation. Civil Engineering Journal, 11 (4), 1476, 2025.
https://doi.org/10.28991/CEJ-2....
15.
JIA M., MIAOJIE M., JING L., ZHENG S., YALEI Z. Review of Research Progress on Microbial Immobilization Technology in Wastewater Treatment. Journal of Fujian Normal University (Natural Science Edition), 38 (1), 117, 2022.
16.
LIN X., LI B., TIAN M., LI X., WANG J. Denitrification effect and strengthening mechanism of SAD/A system at low temperature by gel-immobilization technology. Science of The Total Environment, 900, 165599, 2023.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scit....
17.
JIANG Z., ZHENG Z., WU J., LIU X., YU H., SHEN J. Synthesis, characterization and performance of microorganism-embedded biocomposites of LDH-modified PVA/SA hydrogel beads for enhanced biological nitrogen removal process. Process Biochemistry, 121, 542, 2022.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proc....
18.
JIA-QIANG S., JUN L., GUANG-HUI C., ZHEN-JIA Z. Denitrification Using Embedded Immobilized Denitrifying Bacteria. China Water & Wastewater, 34 (23), 105, 2018.
19.
XIANG L., ZHENG-WEI P., LIAN-GANG H., PENG T., TIAN-HAO S., JUN L., ZHAO-MING Z. Optimization of nitrogen removal performance of partial nitrification AO process based on PVA-SA immobilized particles. China Environmental Science, 44 (9), 4883, 2024.
20.
NINGXIN L. Research on Application of Modified Embedded Particles in Short-Range Nitrification. Liaoning Chemical Industry, 54 (5), 715, 2025.
21.
SUN Q., KAMARUDDIN M., HUANG K., CAO Y., YUSOFF M., CHENG Y. Study on Preparation of Nano Humic Acid and Adsorption Effect of Heavy Metals in Soil. Emerging Science Journal, 9, 2350, 2025.
https://doi.org/10.28991/ESJ-2....
22.
MUKHEEF R.A., HASSAN W.H., ALQUZWEENI S. Artificial recharge of an unconfined aquifer using treated wastewater as a climate change mitigation strategy. Civil Engineering Journal, 10, 319, 2025.
https://doi.org/10.28991/CEJ-S....
23.
LI Z. Cells proliferation Submitted and to decay nitrification. Shanghai: Doctoral Dissertation of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 2012.
24.
OSHIKI M., NETSU H., KURODA K., NARIHIRO T., FUJII N., KINDAICHI T., SUZUKI Y., WATARI T., HATAMOTO M., YAMAGUCHI T. Growth of nitrite‐oxidizing Nitrospira and ammonia‐oxidizing Nitrosomonas in marine recirculating trickling biofilter reactors. Environmental Microbiology, 24 (8), 3735, 2022.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2....
25.
HU M., ZHANG H., TIAN Y. Achieving nitrogen removal with low material and energy consumption through partial nitrification coupled with short-cut sulfur autotrophic denitrification in a single-stage SBR. Bioresource Technology, 380, 128999, 2023.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bior....
26.
KWON S., MOON E., KIM T.-S., HONG S., PARK H.-D. Pyrosequencing demonstrated complex microbial communities in a membrane filtration system for a drinking water treatment plant. Microbes and Environments, 26 (2), 149, 2011.
https://doi.org/10.1264/jsme2.....
27.
CAO Q., CHEN Y., LI X., LI C., LI X. Low C/N promotes stable partial nitrification by enhancing the cooperation of functional microorganisms in treating high-strength ammonium landfill leachate. Journal of Environmental Management, 329, 116972, 2023.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenv....
28.
CHOLET F., AGOGUÉ H., IJAZ U.Z., LACHAUSSÉE N., PINEAU P., SMITH C.J. Low-abundant but highly transcriptionally active uncharacterised Nitrosomonas drive ammonia-oxidation in the Brouage mudflat, France. Science of the Total Environment, 946, 174312, 2024.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scit....
29.
TOMAZETTO G., OLIVEIRA V.M. Investigation of the FeFe-hydrogenase gene diversity combined with phylogenetic microbial community analysis of an anaerobic domestic sewage sludge. World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology, 29 (11), 2003, 2013.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274....
30.
ZIQIAN G., WENTING D., CHAO L., JIE T., KUN D., JIANXIONG Z., FANG Z. Enhanced methanogenesis of waste activated sludge fermentation by dosing an alginate-degrading consortium. Environmental Engineering, 16 (1), 245, 2022.
31.
MUYZER G., DE WAAL E.C., UITTERLINDEN A. Profiling of complex microbial populations by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis of polymerase chain reaction-amplified genes coding for 16S rRNA. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 59 (3), 695, 1993.
https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.59....
32.
JUN-XIAO M., MING-JIE J., JIAN K. Overview of Limitation and Improving Methods of PCR-DGGE in Microbial Diversity Study. Food Science, 29 (5), 493, 2008.